Afghanistan opium production reaches 6,900 tons

Opium production rate has soared to 6,900 tons in Afghanistan in the past 10 years despite the presence of 100,000 foreign troops in the country for nearly eight years. A report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime said on Wednesday that Afghanistan produces 92 percent of the world’s opium that has devastating global consequences.

The UN report also noted that Afghanistan’s illegal opium production is worth 65 billion dollars. The heroin and opium market feeds 15 million addicts, with Europe, Russia and Iran consuming half the supply, UNODC reported.

The UN office estimated some 15 million people take the drug each year, out of which 100,000 people die annually, warning that opium use contributes to the spread of HIV and AIDS. The report indicated that less than two percent of the opium and heroin is seized by the local authorities before it leaves Afghanistan. The Afghanistan-Pakistan border region has turned into the world’s largest free-trade zone in anything and everything that is illicit, from drugs and weapons to even people and migrants, added the UNODC study.

The report added that Afghanistan has a stockpile of enough opium to supply global demand for two years underlining the need to locate and destroy these stocks urgently.

via Afghanistan opium production reaches 6,900 tons.

Perhaps we need to send more of our troops to Afghanistan due to the work that must be done because of all the opium being produced over there. Here is video of the US military destroying poppy seeds … with a bomb:

Here is a look at the situation more from the point of view of the locals.

2 thoughts on “Afghanistan opium production reaches 6,900 tons”

Instabilty and war are the primary factors responsible for increased opium production in Afghanistan. Before the Soviet invasion, and during the brief rule of the Taliban, opium production was either very limited, or deliberated curtailed. Soon after the war is over, production is likely to plummet.